answersLogoWhite

0

From the Online Etymology Dictionary:

; shrapnel : 1806, from Gen. Henry Shrapnel (1761-1842), who invented a type of exploding, fragmenting shell when he was a lieutenant in the Royal Artillery during the Peninsular War. The invention consisted of a hollow cannon ball, filled with shot, which burst in mid-air; his name for it was spherical case ammunition. Sense of "shell fragments" is first recorded 1940. The surname is attested from 13c., and is believed to be a metathesized form of Charbonnel, a dim. form of O.Fr. charbon "charcoal," in ref. to complexion, hair color, or some other quality.

User Avatar

Wiki User

16y ago

What else can I help you with?

Related Questions

Where did the word shrapnel come from?

The word 'shrapnel' is named after Henry Shrapnel the Englishman who invented it back in the 1700's.


What is another word for bomb fragments?

Shrapnel


How do you use shrapnel in a sentence?

Over a dozen Marines were wounded on Saturday when they were struck by shrapnel from an IED. The word shrapnel is a noun.


What is the Latin etymology of the word "etymology"?

The Latin etymology of the word "etymology" comes from the Latin word "etymologia," which means the study of the true meanings and origins of words.


What is the etymology of the word cereal?

the etymology of the word ''cereal'' is from laitin


What is the etymology of etymology?

The etymology of etymology is from the greek etumologia which means "true sense of a word"


Does a thesaurus give the etymology of a word?

No, a thesaurus does not give the etymology of a word. However, the etymology can be found in a dictionary.


How does A thesaurus gives the etymology of a word?

No, a thesaurus does not give the etymology of a word. However, the etymology can be found in a dictionary.


What is the word persecute etymology?

What is the etymology of the word persecute its for my language homework


How old is the word "etymology"?

The word "etymology" is around 600 years old.


What is a good sentence for the word shrapnel?

As a result of the explosion he suffered from, he was left with a bit of shrapnel in his brain.


What is the etymology of shrapnel?

Major-General Henry Shrapnel was the English inventor who changed late-18th century artillery with the shrapnel shell. It was a normal artillery shell with a second charge that shot bullets or balls near the end of its flight. Soon, any hard projectiles formed by explosive fragmentation (like from an anti-personal mine or wall hit by a bomb) came to be known as shrapnel.